Nahan
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Nahan, Female, Wa, from Puershiximengwazuzizhi, Yunnan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Wa Brocade Weaving Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-249). The tradition is documented in Puershiximengwazuzizhi, Yunnan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Wa Brocade Weaving Craftsmanship in Puershiximengwazuzizhi, Yunnan: Apart from Ximeng, it is also distributed in Cangyuan, Menglian, Gengma, Lancang, Shuangjiang, Zhenkang, Yongde, and other places in Yunnan. Among the stripes, cross patterns are the most numerous, while the geometric patterns are mostly lozenge patterns, reflecting the Wa people's concept that all things have spirits: for example, the wave pattern derives from the worship of fire, the cross pattern represents the Wa people's worship of the sun and the stars, and the ox-head pattern represents the Wa people's worship of cattle.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Nahan is anchored in the documented technical standards of Wa Brocade Weaving Craftsmanship in Puershiximengwazuzizhi, Yunnan. Within the documented technical tradition of Wa Brocade Weaving Craftsmanship in Puershiximengwazuzizhi, Yunnan: The Wa brocade-weaving technique is a traditional textile craft passed down from generation to generation among the Wa people; in China it is distributed mainly in Ximeng Wa Autonomous County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, with Wenggake Town, Xinchang Town, and Yuesong Township being the most representative areas. The Wa are one of the earliest peoples in China to cultivate cotton; they "tilled the hills and worked hard at farming, and knew a good deal about spinning and weaving," which created favorable conditions for the gestation and development of the brocade-weaving technique. Wa brocade is called "dai" in the Wa language, and the spinning yarns used are mainly cotton and hemp. The cotton is grass cotton, white cotton, black cotton, and red cotton; the hemp is mainly ramie and wild fire hemp. Wa brocade is rich in color, and the dyes used are made by boiling water with natural plants or minerals. The tool used in the Wa brocade-weaving technique is a set of bamboo-and-wood back-strap loom, one of the oldest and most simply constructed looms in the world. When weaving, the weaver sits on the ground, controlling the tension of the warp threads by the position of both feet and the lower back and spine. Wa brocade generally passes through process steps such as twisting thread, rolling thread, winding thread, arranging threads, picking out patterns, and weaving cloth to complete the whole process of brocade making. Weaving a bolt of cloth takes about 20 days to a month; if it is double-sided brocade, it takes even longer. The cloth woven is sturdy and durable and is used mainly for daily items such as clothing, shoulder bags, quilt covers, bed sheets, ornaments, and curtains. The patterns of Wa brocade can be divided into two broad categories: stripes, and alternating stripes and geometric patterns. Wa brocade is fairly particular about the use of color, taking black and red as the basic tones, alternating with yellow, green, white, and blue, and using pink, pale purple, and brown as auxiliary colors, with mutual variation of light and dark shades. Wa brocade has a long history, and it is recorded in the Jin-dynasty Huayang Guozhi (Records of the States South of Mount Hua) and in the Xin Tang Ji. Through its patterns, the Wa brocade-weaving technique records the history, culture, beliefs, and folk customs of the Wa people, carries the cultural memory of the Wa, and vividly reflects the spiritual outlook of the Wa people and the characteristics of their regional culture. With the development of tourism in Ximeng, the Wa brocade-weaving technique plays a positive role in creating employment and raising incomes and in forming a cultural brand effect, and has important historical, cultural, and economic value. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival Records of Process Steps": Wa brocade generally passes through process steps such as twisting thread, rolling thread, winding thread, arranging threads, picking out patterns, and weaving cloth to complete the whole process of brocade making.
Archival Records of Process Steps
Wa brocade generally passes through process steps such as twisting thread, rolling thread, winding thread, arranging threads, picking out patterns, and weaving cloth to complete the whole process of brocade making.
Core Technique I
The Wa brocade-weaving technique is a traditional textile craft passed down from generation to generation among the Wa people;
Core Technique II
in China it is distributed mainly in Ximeng Wa Autonomous County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, with Wenggake Town, Xinchang Town, and Yuesong Township being the most representative areas.
Core Technique III
The Wa are one of the earliest peoples in China to cultivate cotton;
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Nahan was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Wa Brocade Weaving Craftsmanship, with Puershiximengwazuzizhi, Yunnan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Wa Brocade Weaving Craftsmanship in Puershiximengwazuzizhi, Yunnan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Puershiximengwazuzizhi, Yunnan as its declared area, and Xi Wazuzizhixian Wa Autonomous County Cultural Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
Among the stripes, cross patterns are the most numerous, while the geometric patterns are mostly lozenge patterns, reflecting the Wa people's concept that all things have spirits: for example, the wave pattern derives from the worship of fire, the cross pattern represents the Wa people's worship of the sun and the stars, and the ox-head pattern represents the Wa people's worship of cattle.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nahan | Puershiximengwazuzizhi, Yunnan | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。